The hero and the villain. The light and the darkness. The good and the evil. Fighters  nay, people - are rarely so simple. Yet, fans cast boxers in such stark shades again and again.

This proves a useful tool for promotions. Good vs. evil is an easy narrative to follow. Even toddlers can tell the bad guy from the good guy. Pro Wrestling, with its heels and faces, bases the majority of its storylines and characters off of this basic premise. Putting on the black hat and acting the fool can elicit the easy boo. But sometimes, fans refuse to remove the black hat from the fool and place it on the other. Sometimes, fans view a fighter as a black or white cutout rather than an imperfect human.

Take the heavyweight duo of Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. As RING Magazine columnists Eric Raskin and William Dettloff recently pointed out, Holyfield has been accused of domestic assault, parental negligence, and steroid abuse. And yet, the stories failed to make headlines. Fans failed to vilify The Real Deal for his real dealings. Meanwhile, Tyson remains the butt of jokes, the target of ridicule, and a go-to example of what-not-to-do in life. Even the mellower Tyson  like the one seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show  must recount, reflect, and answer for his many transgressions even as his flawed rival Holyfield sits a few feet away.

Or what about Los Angeles products Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya? To the hardcore fan, Mosley is a true warrior, a genuine soul, and a take-on-all-comers type of guy. He’s a throwback if there ever was one. De La Hoya, to several fans, remains a greedy, conniving, scheming individual who fought for money and cared more about his image than the sport. Nevertheless, it is Mosley who chased De La Hoya’s money first. It is Mosley who joined De La Hoya’s promotional group. And it is Mosley who admitted to using banned performance enhancing drugs against the very same derided De La Hoya.

And what of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, boxing’s current star ascendants? On one hand, Pacquiao portrays an exciting, humble, and talented celebrity athlete who loves his country and loves his fans. On the other hand, Mayweather talks foolish, acts brash, throws cash, and fights boring. On the backhand, however, some Filipino tabloids link Pacquiao, a married father of four, to not one but several mistresses in his homeland. Similar stories in the United States tear down not only the most powerful athletes but also businessmen, actors, and politicians too. But by any indication, Pacquiao’s popularity refuses to wane on either side of the Pacific.

This is not to say that the general public has got it backwards. This is not to say that Tyson, De La Hoya, and Mayweather are angels while Holyfield, Mosley, and Pacquiao are devils. This says that nobody is the brightest light, and nobody is the deepest darkness.

Like anyone else, fighters are shades of gray.

CONCLUSIVE BLOWS

- From March 27th until May 15th, fight fans can enjoy a major boxing card every weekend. And on some weekends, there’s more than one. Until then, a couple of boxing cards and a Manny Pacquiao fight will have to tide us over. But once that date hits, almost all of boxing’s best will be in action for nearly two months straight. Call it boxing’s March Madness…
- Absent among any of those dates, though, is 140-pound titlist Timothy Bradley. Bradley seems more avoided than Shaun White these days. Wait…what’s that you’re telling me? Snowboarders CAN’T avoid the best competition like boxers can, you say? Well damn…
- I find all this talk of a testing hoax for the Mayweather  Mosley bout a bit overblown. Mayweather has brought up advanced testing procedures in almost any interview he’s given about the fight, and advanced testing has been the hot-button boxing topic for the past two months. Every press conference and media day and 24/7 episode may have an eye on this issue. If the Mayweather camp never enforces the new procedures, those lies would stack up pretty quick…
- Anybody else shed a tear seeing 110,000 at the NBA All-Star game in Cowboys Stadium? That could have been boxing’s glory, too. Sigh…